For years, South African beauty and skincare lovers (myself included) have been begging for Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin products to be sold on the continent and the call has finally been answered.
The launch was marked by a smooth rollout, with events and marketing activations in eight countries on the continent – among them; South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Nigeria.
Interest in the brand was palpable with influencers and celebrities alike clamouring to be included in the festivities and get their hands on the products which are now available at Edgars Beauty and Arc stores.
The first in a series of events was an intimate invitation-only chat with global Fenty makeup artist Hector Espinal.
Clad in a crisp white shirt, some black trousers and Balenciaga boots, the first thing you actually notice about Hector is his facial features, accentuated by Fenty makeup products and framed by a trim beard.
Hector is currently sporting a bald head, so there is nothing to take the focus away from his face.
Despite holding such an intimidating title, Hector is warm and welcoming, making it easier to ask questions during the informal session aimed at allowing the media to get to know him.
He also still has a glint in his eye when speaking about the products which communicates a continued passion for his job even after 13 years in the business.
He begins the chat by introducing himself – a man of Dominican descent, born, and raised in Spanish Harlem, New York City.
After qualifying as a makeup artist, he went on to work at Sephora – a French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products and one of the most revered retailers by American beauty lovers.
He also went on to gain high profile celebrity clients like Cardi B, Marc Jacobs, and Rosario Dawson and do the makeup looks for some brands showing at the prestigious New York Fashion Week.
All while working with Sephora doing things like developing products for the brand and overseeing campaigns.
Hector admits reaching what he calls a plateau where he felt like his career had hit a ceiling and he began wondering “where to from here? How can I grow?”
It was at this moment that he got a call to fly to Paris to work with Rihanna and Puma for Paris Fashion Week.
“Coming from a Spanish background, you know, Dominican parents, never in a million years would I have ever thought I’d be going to Paris to do fashion week,” mused Hector.
“So, when I went to do it, it was obviously monumental.”
Explaining his experience in Paris, Hector explained how he approached his role as an assistant to the key makeup artist with the utmost professionalism, doing all that was asked of him to ensure the day’s work went as smoothly as possible.
He also researched what Rihanna likes and doesn’t like, to ensure he was able to cater to her.
This led to him being asked backstage to do her makeup and he says he couldn’t believe it, a moment he described as an alignment of the stars.
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Some months later, he was called into a meeting at work and fearing the worst, he then found out that Rihanna was planning to launch a brand that she wanted him to be involved in.
He auditioned against thousands of makeup artists, over 2,000 by his estimation, and initially made it to the top ten. He then made it to the top three alongside fellow global Fenty makeup artist Priscilla Ono and Preston Meneses, who does Janet Jackson’s makeup.
Hector then took the day’s guests through the range, encouraging touching, feeling and experiencing the products in order to see what they’re really about. Experiencing products is something Hector says Rihanna loves, and adds that she encourages a spirit of “play” when it comes to experiencing her products.
“Fenty Beauty is different because it has an understanding of who the client is; what their skin type is, what their skin tone is and we have no rules. We don’t believe one product works for only one person or ‘I can use this but you can’t,’” he says, before adding “I feel like Fenty Beauty is disruptive in a really good way.”
Starting with the foundation, a signature product for Fenty Beauty that boasts over 50 shades after initially launching with 40 shades.
“Whether she’s here in Africa, in Dubai or New York, it doesn’t matter, she wanted to make sure that everyone has a shade.”
Hector says he had no idea that the gap in the market was as wide as it was until people in and around New York City would walk up to him and gush about finally finding their shade, and no longer having to mix two different foundation shades from other brands just to achieve it.
Speaking about the formula, Hector said a number of skin types can wear it, whether combination, oily or dry.
Another thing he loves about the brand is what he calls the “match to match” approach where your shade number will be your shade number for all products – foundation, concealer, powder etc. This was done to make makeup easy for everyone.
“Rihanna created a three-step method for creating the perfect Fenty Face,” says Hector, explaining how this method was created to avert the multi-step process that many have adopted just for creating the perfect “natural” look.
The perfect Fenty Face starts with a soft matte base, strategically applied bronzer to create shape and sculpt, and highlighter to finish off. The gloss is optional.
“As you see, Rihanna is always looking super dewy, super beautiful, her cheekbone is always highlighted, that has always been a thing of hers,” adds Hector when demonstrating the use of the killawatt freestyle highlighter.
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Dubbed “freestyle” because “no product is meant to be used in one way. She hates that, she’s like ‘no, I don’t want to be limited, I want to play!’”
“That goes with everything in the brand.”
And what about the African climate?
The climate in countries on the continent varies depending on how close to or far away from the equator you get, anyone who has travelled to one region from another can attest to the fact that sometimes, you can’t even use makeup because of how hot it gets.
Hector believes the products will fare well and bases this belief on the fact that the products were formulated with the intention to ensure that they work well together and do not “separate” as they are layered.
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